Does participation always have a democratic spirit?

This chapter explores the democratic quality of different forms of political participation and invites readers to ponder if citizen engagement in politics always carries a democratic spirit. The terms participation 1.0 and participation 2.0 are coined and conceptualized as ideal types that characterize how participation has shifted over the years. Building on these conceptualisations, the chapter then poses some under-researched questions about whether different expectations or underlying values about good citizenship might underpin these two contrasting forms of participation. Rather than assuming that all participation is good for democracy, the chapter invites the reader to consider whether participation has a democratic downside and if there might be a value divide between participation 1.0 or 2.0.